


The Tales of Galatea

by ValkyrieNine



Series: Season Six - New Beginnings (Proposed Story Arcs) [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), supercorp - Fandom
Genre: AgentReign, Canon Related, DCU Villain, Dark Past, Declarations Of Love, F/F, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Forgiveness, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Love, Love Confessions, Mystery, POV Alternating, Post - Season 5 Finale, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, Season 6 - Proposed Story Arc, SuperCorp, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:21:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24613705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ValkyrieNine/pseuds/ValkyrieNine
Summary: In 2004, just a year after Kara Zor-El landed on earth and joined the Danvers family, Hank Henshaw paid a visit to Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers demanding that Jeremiah join the D.E.O or lose Kara forever.~ Shortly after, Hank Henshaw pays Jeremiah a late-night visit with a new and disturbing demand. Fearing for his family’s safety, Jeremiah reluctantly complies.In 2017, Cyborg Superman raids an old D.E.O. facility and a powerful weapon is born. A weapon Cadmus hoped to wield against their enemies, but lost track of during their downfall.In 2020, Kara is plagued by horrific nightmares. Seeking support from Alex, Kara is convinced that her dreams are simply a byproduct of her stressful double life and her unresolved feelings for Lena.Kara and Lena believe their greatest hurdle is finding their way back to each other until their loved ones start going missing. Kara uncovers a terrible secret that explains her dreams and introduces Kara to the strongest and most deranged villain she has ever faced.
Relationships: Alex Danvers / Sam Arias, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: Season Six - New Beginnings (Proposed Story Arcs) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1779481
Comments: 2
Kudos: 56





	1. Repercussions

**Author's Note:**

> This is a proposed Season 6 story arc. This story is a step away from my usual style. Please be patient. Thanks for reading.

**Midvale, 2004**

_Torment. Agitation. A haunted heart. Foreshadowing of a betrayal ravaged with bitter consequences._

Jeremiah tossed and turned in bed, restless and unable to find any respite from his harrowing day. From the moment he agreed to join the D.E.O., a lingering and pervasive pressure weighed heavily on his chest. He glanced over at Eliza lovingly and moved a lock of her blonde hair from her cheek. She slumbered peacefully, unaware of the terrible burden plaguing her husband. He took in a deep cleansing breath and exhaled sharply. Another sleepless night spliced onto a mosaic of tension and dread. Jeremiah moved to the edge of the bed and put on his slippers. 

As he made his way down the hall, he peeked into the bedroom of his sleeping girls. A sliver of moonlight pierced through the curtains and rested in the center of the room. He could see Alex, his world, fast asleep, without a single care. Kara, his newly adopted daughter, a gift from the cosmos, tossed and turned wildly. Her whimpers and moans broke Jeremiah’s heart. He moved quickly to Kara’s side. Caressing her head softly, he cooed and whispered. 

“Shh... everything is okay, Kara. You’re safe. You’re home. No one will ever hurt you. I will protect you. I promise.”

Kara grabbed Jeremiah’s hand and held on tight. All at once, she quieted and the slightest curve of a smile rested on her angelic face. Jeremiah dragged his hand back slowly and pulled the covers up above her shoulders. He kissed her forehead and smiled. 

Jeremiah and Eliza knew their lives would be far more complicated having taken in the Kryptonian refugee, but Jeremiah never imagined he would become attached to Kara so quickly. Maybe it was the pain in her blue eyes, or maybe it was her sweet innocence. All he knew was that he would do anything for her, just as he would for Alex or Eliza.

He walked down the stairs into the darkened kitchen. He pulled down a glass from the cabinet and filled it with a pitcher of water sitting on the counter. He pressed the glass to his lips and took five long gulps. He set the glass down on the counter, and without looking back, addressed a shadowy figure standing behind him. 

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” Jeremiah whispered, contempt lacing each word. 

“You work for the D.E.O. now, Mr. Danvers. We will communicate whenever and however we like. Your life is no longer you own,”, Hank Henshaw said, enunciating each word with cryptic precision.

Jeremiah filled his glass and moved past Henshaw towards the darkened living room. 

“Shall we take this somewhere more comfortable? It feels absurd to take part in whispered conversations of the unsavory business of clandestine organizations while standing around my wife’s kitchen in my damn pajamas.” 

“As you wish.”

Henshaw nodded his head, and they adjourned to the living room. Jeremiah took a seat in his favorite chair and leaned forward, his brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. Henshaw took a seat on the couch opposite the disgruntled homeowner and sat back. 

“So, what the hell is this all about?”

“Next to the front door, you will find a black case. Its contents will allow you to obtain hair, DNA, and blood samples from Kara painlessly. Retrieve these samples and leave the kit inside your unlocked trunk. Someone will retrieve the case first thing tomorrow morning. I’ve included chloroform patches to keep ‘the child’ asleep during the procedure.”

Jeremiah stood and paced like a jungle cat. 

“The deal was that I join the D.E.O. and you leave Kara the hell alone. Why on earth would I give you samples? She is just a child. What exactly are you afraid of?”

Henshaw sat back and crossed his legs. He regarded Jeremiah for a moment, analyzing his opponent. He removed his black leather gloves and laid them on his lap fastidiously. 

“The deal you agreed to was that you would work for the D.E.O. and help in whatever capacity we require or else we will take Kara into custody and you will never see her face again. Some of my colleagues find it uncouth to levy threats, but I prefer transparency, Mr. Danvers. If you do not do EXACTLY as I say, when I say it, Kara will be the least of your problems. We know every single detail about your actual daughter and your wife. We know everything about you, and we will make your life very painful if you do not cooperate.”

Jeremiah rubbed the back of his neck and paced the floor of the living room faster. His heart pounded wildly in his chest. He ran his fingers through his jet black hair and clenched his square jaw. 

“What do you need the samples for? Can you at least tell me that?”

Henshaw grabbed his gloves and slid them back onto his hands slowly and methodically. He stood up and made his way towards the front door. He stopped short and stood next to Jeremiah. He leaned in and whispered ominously. 

“A failsafe, Mr. Danvers. That is all you need to know. Get the samples or we will burn down your life and destroy everyone you love.”

Before Jeremiah could utter another word, Henshaw pointed at the case and quickly exited the home. The exhausted father picked up the case and looked up towards the second floor. He knew what he had to do. There was no choice. He only hoped that Kara could forgive him.

***

**Cadmus Laboratory, 2017**

The clicking of Lillian Luthor’s high heels on the tile alerted every living soul in the Cadmus lab that danger was afoot. As she made her way past offices and smaller private labs, every living thing seemed to tense with fear and trepidation. Even the lab rats cowered at her approach. 

Lillian stormed into the main lab and took a seat in the biggest and most comfortable chair in the room.

“I really don’t appreciate being summoned. You have twenty seconds to tell me what this is all about or I will show you the business end of my high heel.”

A tall and distinguished man in his early fifties stepped forward. His hair shortly cropped, silver with little flecks of white at the temples. He was a good-looking man by most people’s standards, but Lillian was too irked to care. His lab coat was embroidered with the name “Dr. Emil Hamilton.”

“I am very sorry to disturb you Mrs. Luthor.”

“It is Ms. Luthor.”

“I’m sorry to bother you Ms. Luthor.”

“Get on with it”, Lillian said, clenching her jaw. Her ruby lips parted, ready to order the destruction of the entire lab at a moment’s notice.

“One of your agents brought us something of interest.”

“Agents?”

Hank Henshaw, now transformed into Cyborg Superman, stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of Lillian.

“Henshaw? What are you doing here? I thought you were raiding the old D.E.O. facility.”

Cyborg Superman stepped forward, and with a gritty baritone rasp, addressed Lillian directly.

“I raided the facility. They instructed me to bring all scientific and genetic materials to this lab for further study.”

“What did you find?” Lillian perked up excitedly. 

“Most samples were from D.E.O. prisoners of no consequence, but I found something intriguing. I remember retrieving this sample myself. It should prove very useful.”

“I will be the judge of that. Tell me, you monstrous cyborg. What did you find?”

“Hair, DNA and Blood samples from a Kryptonian child. There was no name, only an ID number, but the records said the child was a girl.”

“Supergirl”, Lillian said, licking her lips and smiling wickedly. “Finally.”

“Exactly. Jeremiah Danvers retrieved the samples for the D.E.O,”, Cyborg Superman said flatly. 

“How delicious. Take these samples, add a dash of betrayal by a father figure and you get one dead Super.”

Doctor Hamilton stepped forward.

“Now you see why I wanted to speak with you. Armed with Supergirl’s genetic material, there are no limits to what we might accomplish.”

“At last!” Lillian’s grin widened and her eyes turned mad with desire. “We have the weapon of mass destruction we’ve been waiting for. We can finally put an end to the alien fungus that has invaded this planet. How long will it take?”

“Well, Ms. Luthor, that is where you will appreciate what I bring to the table. I have the tools and knowledge at my disposal to advance replicant age so your weapon will be at its very prime state in a brief time. It will be a newborn, but with rigorous training and discipline, I say it should be ready to wield in a couple years.”

“Get on it. Any resources you need, you will have. We must keep this project secret. We finally have the power to create a Cadmus-controlled weapon to take out the Supers.”

“We will make sure she hates those alien bastards with a passion. We will give her one mission. To destroy them. What should we call the project?” Doctor Hamilton shot Lillian a devilish grin. 

“Project Galatea”, Lillian said without skipping a beat. The old Greek myth. Galatea was a statue of Aphrodite come to life. Galatea, in many ways, was better than the likeness she bore. Our Galatea will be a splendid weapon for finally ridding the world of Supergirl.”

***

**National City, 2019**

Kara laid in bed, tossing and turning wildly. 

_Indignation, furor, and madness drove her past the point of exhaustion. Sweat dripped down her face as she grappled with another adversary. The room was sullied by the crumpled, bloodied, and beaten bodies of her opponents. This one punched her square in the mouth. The blow had no effect, other than to intensify her rage._

_She grabbed his baton and slammed it against his temple repeatedly until blood flowed freely from a gaping wound. His head went slack and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. She dropped his lifeless body and grabbed his gun._

_Peeking into the hallway, she raised the Glock 19, fully prepared to take down anyone in her path. A door at the end of the hallway opened up and five armed soldiers ran at her with weapons drawn. No more holding back._

_Five flashes of heat vision halted the attack before it even started. The smell of seared flesh and the smoke from the cauterization of her enemy’s skin choked the air._

_She sat down in place and crossed her legs. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. The slightest hint of a smile pulled at the edges of her mouth._

_The soft click of loafers hitting the tile behind her caught her attention. The sound of the doctor’s lab coat flapping in the breeze made her cringe with disgust. One day, she thought to herself. One day, she would end him. She opened her eyes, but didn’t make a move_

_“I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t kill anyone else during these training exercises,”, a disapproving voice said from above. “We are running out of soldiers. Rest for a few minutes, but you need to complete your flying drills.”_

_“I really don’t want to do anymore flying drills. They are exhausting and they serve no purpose. I can kill everyone. You tell me not to kill anymore soldiers, but it is too easy. I need a stronger opponent.”_

_“Don’t worry, you will have two worthy opponents one day soon.”_

***

Kara sat up in bed, gasping for breath. Her body shook violently from head to toe and she was covered in a cold sweat. She kicked her sheets and blankets to the floor during her night terror. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock. 

“Two am. Great. What was that? Who was that man? Where was I, and why was I so angry? I need to figure out why I keep having these dreams. What do all of these dreams mean? It feels like me, but I would never kill anyone like that. Not in cold blood.”

Kara laid back down against the pillows, neglecting her sheets and blanket. She turned over in bed, hoping to get a little more rest before she had to wake up and head to CatCo. 

***

**National City, 2020**

Lena paced the hallway outside of Kara’s apartment frantically. She rubbed her hands together and gritted her teeth.

“This was a colossal mistake, Kara. I don’t know what I was thinking of coming here. They all hate me.”

Kara gave Lena a tender smile and rubbed her shoulder. 

“Lena, this wasn’t a mistake, and no one hates you. I know it feels strange, but I’m sure it will just take some time. When I threw this dinner to welcome you back into the fold, I knew there would be some challenges, but we will face them together. I’m here.”

“You’re sweet, Kara, but everyone in that apartment is staring at me like they are expecting me to pull out a particle weapon and vaporize them. Winn won’t make eye contact with me and J’onn keeps watching my hands.”

Kara pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and shook her head. 

“I’m so sorry, Lena. They are just as nervous as you are.”

“Exactly! What are they nervous about? I don’t mean them any harm. Listen, I’m not naïve. I know the things I did are unforgivable. Maybe I should just accept that and move on.”

“Lena, please just breathe. I don’t want you to just move on. I have forgiven you and you have forgiven me. Right?”

Lena’s face softened. Her eyes brightened, and she smiled sweetly. 

“Of course”, Lena said, taking Kara’s hand. You weren’t the villain here. I was. Well, hopefully you don’t see me as a true villain.”

“I’m sorry I ever used that word with you. I could never see you as a villain. You were in pain. Lena, please listen. Let’s go back inside, grab a glass of wine, and just get through this together. They will be weird, but we all have to start somewhere.”

“I can handle the averted gazes and awkwardness, but the chill I’m getting from Alex is gut wrenching.”

“I’m so sorry. Alex can be stubborn, but she knows how much you mean to me.”

“Still?” Lena asked, looking down at the ground. 

“Lena, you mean the world to me. Nothing will ever change that. You went off the deep end, but what kind of friend would I be if I couldn’t forgive a little madness here and there?”

Lena giggled and took a step closer to Kara. 

“I do not understand what I did to deserve a friend like you, but I am so thankful,” Lena said with a tender smile. 

“Come on, let’s get back inside. I’m starving and there is pie for dessert.”

Kara took Lena’s hand and stepped back inside the apartment. 

Alex, J’onn and Winn stood huddled together with their backs facing the door. Winn spoke flippantly. 

“This is just too weird. I feel like we’re having dinner with the Wicked Witch,”, Winn said with a snicker. “I’m just waiting for her to attack.”

Alex shook her head and scoffed. 

“I don’t know if I can ever forgive her for breaking Kara’s heart. We need to give her a chance, but this will not be easy. Let’s just grin and bare it.”

“Come on, guys. Kara asked us all to keep an open mind, and that is exactly what we need to do,”, Nia said, trying to calm everyone’s nerves. 

“But we need to be cautious. We have seen her true colors before,” J’onn said flatly.

Suddenly everyone in the room sensed Kara and Lena standing in the doorway. Their faces fell. Shame and disgrace filled the air. 

**“A Whiter Shade of Pale”, by Procol Harum.**

**https://open.spotify.com/track/78ZqE2tjAxbqEGGlvGnQfT?si=azkYeZgrQCCfwaYViZfJ0A**

Lena’s face went pale and her eyes filled with tears. She bit her lip. 

Kara’s face dropped. Her angry brow and pursed lips showed everyone in the room just how mortified she was. 

“I should go, Kara. I was right. I’m not welcome here. There’s no coming back from what I did.”

Kara glared at the group. She turned and grabbed Lena’s arm. 

“Please, Lena. Please don’t go. They didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“They meant every word, Kara, but I can’t say I blame them. They have every right to be upset.” 

Alex stared down at the ground, embarrassed that she was so hurtful. 

“Lena, I’m sorry. We never meant to...”, Alex said, trailing off.

“I know. You are not terrible people. I am.”

Lena grabbed her coat from the back of the couch and headed for the door. Nia moved to Lena’s side. 

“Lena, please don’t go. I know this is awkward, but we need to start somewhere.”

“Thank you for trying, Nia. I think it would better for everyone if I leave. I have a dreadful headache, anyway. Please, just enjoy your beautiful dinner,” Lena said shakily. 

Lena turned to Kara. 

“Thank you for trying, Kara. It means a lot to me you wanted to do this.”

“Lena, please don’t give up.”

“I’m not giving up, Kara. I promise. Today is just not the day”, Lena said with a sad smile. 

The pain in Lena’s eyes broke Kara’s heart. 

Lena opened the door, and before Kara could utter another word, she was gone. The other dinner guests stood around in somber silence as Kara buried her face in her hands. 


	2. The Scientists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Lena close the distance between them in a surprising way and Dr. Emil Hamilton shares his thoughts and fears about Project Galatea.

**Lena’s Penthouse, 2020**

_Only love can hurt like this. Longing. Guilt. Regret. Mournful heartache._

_As the physical distance between us closes, I fear that the emotional distance between us will continue to grow._

Lena stood in her darkened penthouse staring out at the twinkling lights of National City. Sad music played softly throughout the cavernous apartment, a soundtrack to Lena’s melancholy. 

**“Only Love Can Hurt Like This”, by Paloma Faith played softly in the background.**

**https://open.spotify.com/track/62ke5zFUJN6RvtXZgVH0F8?si=SznfDZciQNilOFa5CMFEow**

A secret Lena never confessed to another living soul was that there was a particularly bright star in the sky that she would stare at when she thought of Kara. That brilliant celestial body, she often thought to herself, was the very essence of the woman who was dearer to her than anyone else in all the universes combined. Bright, a standout amongst duller darker stars, and always there, loyal and kind. When Lena was happy and her heart was full of love, that star seemed to sparkle brighter than anything she had ever seen. When her heart hurt or she longed for Kara, that star never seemed as bright. The clouds would roll in and obscure her beautiful star and she would feel the distance between them grow.

Three days had passed since Lena stormed out of Kara’s apartment. Her best friend’s intentions were genuine and kind, but even Lena knew it was too soon to mend fences with their wounded circle of friends. She longed desperately to find her way back to where they all were before everything fell apart. Now, she wondered if her hasty exit from the dinner party was the last straw for Kara. 

Anger, rage, and indignation were her constant companions. Those ugly feelings were her protectors when she felt hurt or betrayed. 

Lena knew she needed to make peace with all of her demons if she could ever hope to find her way home to Kara. 

All the feelings that guarded her and protected her drove a wedge between them. She knew deep down that she needed to practice patience with those who were having a hard time forgiving her for her misdeeds. 

Her crimes were plentiful and made her cringe when she allowed herself the rare opportunity to reflect on her mistakes. It shocked Lena that Kara was so quick to forgive, but yet again, that was Kara. Pure goodness. 

Lena couldn’t help but wonder if she deserved Kara’s forgiveness. She wondered if someone so capable of causing pain and wreaking havoc on National City was capable of true redemption in everyone’s eyes.

She bore no anger or ill will towards their friends for having difficulty forgiving her the way Kara had. Alex had never been too keen on Lena, so her distrust was a familiar bed fellow. It was hard to see Winn so fired up, but Lena took comfort knowing that he was just a little dweeb who sought attention with ill-timed humor and misguided attempts to be ‘one of the gang’. She knew that Winn wasn’t a hurtful person. None of them were. Kara wouldn’t love terrible people. The question was, could she still love Lena?

Her guilt plagued her like an illness, ravaging her insides. If only she could tell Kara her secret. If only she could reveal her actual truth. Maybe she could finally sleep. Maybe she could eat something without feeling sick. Maybe she wouldn’t feel so undeserving of joy or happiness. 

Lena knew that she could never look Kara in the eyes and tell her how she really felt. It was too much. Dozens of times Lena had contemplated confessing her genuine feelings, but she always backed down, fearful of rejection. Now she couldn’t help but wonder if it was too late. 

She had sought distraction for the last three days, but work was just a different location for her suffering. A diverse backdrop to her melancholy. She would wander around her office, taking brief recesses from her pacing to check her phone. 

No messages. No emails. No calls. No hope. 

Lena curled up on her couch and squeezed her knees to her chest. She held herself tight, wishing Kara’s arms were wrapped around her, protective and comforting. But Kara wasn’t there. Lena was alone with her thoughts. When she got home from work, she threw on her National City University sweatshirt and a pair of leggings. She removed her makeup. She was soft and vulnerable. No armor to protect her. No ruby red lips to warn away predators. Her black hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back. Her normally piercing green eyes were bloodshot and dried out from weeping for the last seventy-two hours. 

Lena exhaled sharply and stared out the window at her hidden star. 

“What have I done?”

Lena wrapped her hands around a piping hot cup of Irish Breakfast tea. Add a few drops of milk and a spoonful of sugar, and all would be right with the world, or so she hoped. Lena had so few memories of her mother, but this one, the steaming cup of Irish Breakfast, now excavated from the recesses of her memory, she could never forget. 

Her normal drink of choice would have been something strong, brown and on the rougher side of the Irish palate, but she knew Kara would disapprove and even when they didn’t speak, she wanted to honor her wishes. 

Lena set down her cup and opened her laptop.

“Emails. Meeting, meeting, request for proposal, request for meeting, blah blah blah.”

Lena hoped for a distraction, but only found boredom. No email could distract Lena from her heartache.

The time on her laptop read 11:30 pm. She wondered how she had lost track of time. As of late, she was acutely aware of each second ticking by on the clock. Ten more seconds had ticked by and still no word from Kara. All Lena wanted right now was an unlit room and a bottle of something strong and cheap. 

Every part of her wanted to dull her senses and float away into quiet oblivion, but trying not to feel led her down her path of madness, and she never wanted to walk that path again. It was a lonely road without Kara to lead the way through the dark. 

She closed the lid of her laptop halfway but halted. She opened the lid and opened a blank document. She started a letter. A letter to Kara. 

_My Dear Kara,_

_My Dearest Kara,_

_My best friend, my heart, my soulmate,_

_I wish I could say these things aloud._

_Kara, I am sorry I left your apartment so abruptly. I know it wasn’t mature to leave the way I did, but I just couldn’t face the awkwardness. It wasn’t the way they made me feel as much as it was the look of embarrassment and disappointment on your face._

_Now it’s been three days since we talked and I’m terrified that I’ve lost you. We’ve spent so much time apart and it was excruciating. This was all my fault. I should have been stronger. I should have stayed and tried to make it work. Kara, I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you. Not knowing you, not knowing what is in your heart pains me._

_I will find you tomorrow. I will find you and beg your forgiveness. Maybe if you see the pain in my eyes, you’ll know how sorry I am. I want to make this work. I swear._

_You are so important to me. I know more than ever that I love..._

A loud knock on the door shattered Lena’s already waning concentration. She closed the lid of the laptop and moved to the door. One look through the peephole made her heart flutter with warmth and nervousness.

**“The Scientist”, by Corrine Bailey Rae played softly in the background.**

**https://open.spotify.com/track/7tn1tcxenMwDXrYTOjS3z1?si=7Y9Xc9SpTIepV-XA5eUuFg**

Lena opened the door and found Kara standing in the hall holding a pink cake box. She had to fight every instinct not to throw her arms around Kara. Her nerves got the best of her and she folded her hands behind her back. Kara gave her an awkward smile.

“Hi Lena.”

“Hi Kara”, Lena said looking down at the ground. 

“I hope I’m not disturbing you. I know how late it is.”

“Not at all. I was awake”, Lena said, pained by their robotic exchange 

“I considered waving a white flag, but opted for this instead,”, Kara said holding up the cake box.

“Why would YOU need a white flag?” 

Lena’s brow furrowed in confusion, and her eyes widened with shock. Unconsciously, she took a little step forward. 

“Lena, I am so sorry. Everyone behaved terribly at the dinner the other night. I should have come after you. I should have left with you. I was just so stunned and then I didn’t know what to say. I froze.”

Lena grinned and stared down at her toes, hoping to obscure the warm blush she felt spreading through her cheeks. She never imagined that Kara would stand at her door apologizing to her. In her heart, she believed Kara saw her as the villain in the exchange. Her body responded to her relief by slowing her heartbeat and letting go of the vice grip on her lungs. A smile crept onto Lena’s face and she looked up into Kara’s crystal blue eyes. 

“It’s me who owes you an apology. I should have stayed. It wasn’t mature for me to leave the way I did. You had to stay. It was your party. They were all just so...”, Lena began before Kara interrupted.

“Awful, judgmental, rude?”

Lena chuckled softly. A brightness seemed to return to her countenance. 

“Not at all. More like hurt and afraid. Kara, I know I need to atone for my sins. I know I have allowed my anger and my darkness to reach in and take control, but I want to be the friend you need me to be. I will be more patient and understanding. I know this is all going to take time, but please know that all I want is for us to find our way back to where we were.”

Kara’s lips parted slightly, and her eyes sparkled. Her gleeful expression showed Lena that she had chosen just the right words to express how she was feeling. 

“If I wasn’t holding this cake, I would hug you so hard!” Kara’s smile was infectious. Lena felt the edges of her lips lift and her cheeks burned from the unfamiliar use of her facial muscles. 

All at once and in perfect unison, Kara and Lena both exhaled. It was as though they were both holding their breath for the last three days and they could finally let go. 

“What’s this?” Lena asked. 

Kara pulled open the top of the box. Inside was a gorgeous red velvet cake with a simple but meaningful message written in red and blue icing. Lena read it aloud.

“Sorry we were jerks.”

Lena giggled. 

“Wow! Now that’s a delicious message. I suppose I owe you a cake with a message that says ‘Sorry I was a chicken and ran away’, but maybe you’ll settle for a glass of cold milk to go with your creative apology.”

Kara grinned and nodded her head in agreement.

“Deal.”

“Here, come in and sit down”, Lena said waving Kara into her apartment and over to the couch. 

Lena moved quickly to the kitchen and grabbed two glasses of milk, along with plates, a cake knife, and forks. Lena took a seat next to Kara, just a cushion away, and set down the items she collected for their reunion dessert.

“So, why on earth would you need to wave a white flag?” Lena asked, slicing into the cake. 

Kara rubbed the tops of her legs nervously. Lena looked over and surveyed Kara. She wore her hair down and pulled back out of her face. It always amazed Lena how her flaxen hair shimmered in even the darkest of places. Her pressed slim cut black slacks and button-down shirt were two of Lena’s favorite pieces on Kara. She loved her in black. She could never say it without giving away her desire to unbutton that black shirt or unzip those tight black pants. 

“We haven’t talked for three days. I figured you were so disgusted by everyone’s behavior that you were finished with all of us. I am so sorry I didn’t yell at them. I should have yelled at them. I should have defended you. I’m sorry I failed you, Lena.”

Lena let out a hearty chuckle and handed Kara a piece of cake.

“You didn’t fail me, silly. Here I was assuming I upset you when I stormed out. I was going to come and find you tomorrow. Kara, all I can say is that I am sorry. I know you were trying to make things better. I just couldn’t handle sitting through dinner trying to ignore their sneers and snarky comments.”

“I still should have come after you”, Kara said, her head dropping in shame. 

Lena reached over and gently lifted Kara’s chin so their eyes could meet. She could feel her love for her Super course through every nerve in her body. 

“I didn’t expect you to come after me, Kara. It was your dinner party and your apartment. Really, I take full responsibility. Please. Let’s just appreciate that we are here and we have this delicious cake thanks to my brilliant super best friend.”

Lena laughed just a little. Kara’s eyes remained sad. 

“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

“I’m sorry too. I should have come to you. I was just scared. Can we agree that we won’t let this distance between us grow? I don’t know who I am if I’m not by your side.”

Kara stared deep into Lena’s eyes. 

_Electricity. A spark. A moment of genuine connection._

Lena immediately wondered if she had said too much. Was that too romantic? Was it too telling? 

“Lena, you’ve been crying. Was it all of this? Is everything okay?”

Kara leaned over and placed a hand on Lena’s arm. Her entire body trembled under Kara’s touch. She could feel the magnetism pulling her body closer to Kara’s. 

“I’m fine, really. I guess I was just afraid.”

“Afraid of what?”

“That we had reverted to what we were. I mean when we weren’t talking. That horrible evening when you came to me and said that thing about treating me like a villain. I felt like I had lost you forever. Your eyes were so dark and cold. I had never seen that look in your eyes.”

“Lena, I am so sorry. You know I was just trying everything I could to get through to you. I was in agony. I did everything I could to find my way back to you. Lena, I swear we won’t revert to those tragic days.“

“I guess I was just scared that if I couldn’t make things go back to normal with our friends that you and I would never be the same. You know I care about all of them, but I just miss you so much. I hate this distance that has grown between us.”

Kara moved closer and placed a hand on Lena’s chest, right above her heart. 

Lena laid her hand over Kara’s. She interlaced their fingers and closed her eyes. 

“We fought. We fought epically. It was a very Super and Luthor fight, but we made it out and escaped that darkness. Lena, you mean everything to me. I want things to go back to normal. I want everyone to see how sorry you are and bring you back into the fold, but even if they don’t accept you, I do. Lena I’ve said it before and I think I proved it through all of this. You will never lose me. Do you hear me? Never.”

Lena leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Kara’s neck. Kara wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist and pulled her closer. 

“Now, this feels oddly familiar. How many times do you think we have hugged on one couch or another?” Lena’s eyes filled with more tears, but these were tears of relief. 

“No clue, but I always feel better when we do”, Kara said leaning back and wiping the tears from Lena’s eyes. 

Lena let out an enormous yawn. 

“Oh, my God. I am so sorry”, Lena said, fighting another yawn. 

“Are you okay? You look exhausted.”

Kara leaned over and playfully inspected the cup of tea sitting in front of Lena. 

“Just tea, I swear”, Lena said with an equally playful wink.

“I worry about you.”

“Thank you. I’m trying this unfamiliar thing where I don’t mask my sadness with alcohol. A wonderful friend once told me that there were better ways to deal with my feelings.”

“This friend sounds like a genius. Seriously, you look beat.”

“I guess I have slept little since I left your place that night. Not talking to you always makes me uneasy.”

“Lena, take better care of yourself. I’m sorry you haven’t slept. I should get out of your hair and let you get some rest.”

“There’s no rush. I have to finish a little work. You’re not keeping me up. I swear.”

**“Higher Ground”, by Naomi Wild played softly in the background.**

**https://open.spotify.com/track/7KT7VGnPU5QVXN3q1BOeqb?si=C2MjoWAlShOc1xFnZo0fFA**

“Come here”, Kara said, moving to the edge of the couch. She laid a pillow on her lap and motioned for Lena to lie down. 

Lena sat there for a moment trying to take in every detail. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was all some splendid dream.

“Come on. I’ll never be able to sleep if I know your taking terrible care of yourself. Come here and take a fifteen minute cat nap. Please. It’s really a selfish pursuit. I can’t sleep if you don’t.” 

Kara’s almost child-like expression and sparkling eyes were Lena’s kryptonite. She would often fall asleep imaging she was lying on Kara’s lap as they watched TV or chatted casually. Sometimes she would daydream about what it would feel like for Kara to hold her in her arms as she dozed. She knew she couldn’t say no. 

Kara patted the pillow. 

Lena scooted over and laid her head down on Kara’s lap. She lifted her head. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Please. Lay down.”

“Do you want to start looking for Lex tomorrow?”

“Absolutely. I love that idea. Now lay down or I’ll use my disapproving Super voice.”

Lena grinned and laid back down. She rested a hand on Kara’s leg and closed her eyes. The last thing she felt before she drifted off was Kara’s hand gently caressing her head. The last thing she heard were Kara’s whispered words.

“Sleep well. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”

***

**Cadmus Lab - Medical Journal of Dr. Emil Hamilton**

_Subject is, as always, the perfect physical specimen. Subject’s psychopathy continues to be a concern. She lacks empathy, impulse control, conscience or regret. She exhibits an unparalleled bloodlust. We trained and conditioned her to hate the enemies of Cadmus, but the only joy she experiences is when she takes a life in the most gruesome way possible. She cannot experience any proper form of content._

_Her body always seems to shake or vibrate. Even her sleep is fitful and restless. She complains of nightmares where she can see and feel what her Donor feels. However impossible it is to believe, I, a man of science, believe that there may be a psychic connection between them. This could prove dangerous if the Donor can see what the Subject is seeing and feeling. Her emotions teeter between indignation, ferocity and murderous rage. When she is calm, she is plotting. We have explained that she is a bullet not yet loaded into the gun, but she has attempted to escape multiple times, hoping to kill the Donor._

_Kryptonite suppression is not as useful as we originally believed it would be. We lined her cell walls with kryptonite. Yet she can use some of her powers. The normally draining effects seem to have diminished. The effectiveness at the beginning of the Subject’s life seems to have deteriorated daily. Maybe it is because we aged her to her prime or maybe prolonged exposure has helped her body fight the ill effects. Maybe it is because she is literally a perfect specimen. All I know is that I am becoming increasingly concerned that we cannot hold or control her for much longer._

_We did this to her. We incensed her and exposed her to psychological programming and torture to create a bloodlust and hostility. We sharpened the knife, but no one knows how to wield it. The assumption was that she could compartmentalize and focus her rage on the Donor. Instead, her rage is directed at anyone in her path._

_Her indignation stems from a desire to feel normal. Her feelings seem to stem from a strange jealousy. More than once, we have recorded her saying that she deserved a better life and would steal the Donor’s life. She thinks it is unfair that that the Donor has friends and family. She craves normalcy, but someone as twisted and psychotic as she is can never hope to live a normal life._

_Subject’s psychic link may be more than just a connection through dreams. She has experienced a handful of visions that appear to confuse and discombobulate her._

_We have suspended all of her training. Dozens of soldiers were sacrifices to her bloodlust. We cannot afford anymore casualties._

_We received a visit from General Bradley today. Now that Cadmus is defunct, and the lab is returning to the control of the government, the General asked for a recommendation on how we should proceed with Project Galatea. My recommendation is that the Subject be terminated and all records of this experiment be burned. The alien threat is still real, but the Subject’s rabidity and impulsiveness is far more terrifying than any external enemy. If there is a God, may he have mercy on us all._


	3. Galatea’s Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Galatea escapes the old Cadmus compound and Kara is plagued by another horrific nightmare.

**Cadmus Lab - Galatea’s Cell, 2020**

_Monday Afternoon_

Seated squarely in the center of the floor of her cell, Galatea sat calmly and quietly contemplating the images before her. The decor was less than conventional. She covered every square inch of her cell walls with disfigured photos of Supergirl and crude child-like drawings of the Girl of Steel meeting a grisly end. Galatea concentrated on a particularly gruesome depiction of herself ripping the head off of Supergirl’s body. A wicked smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. 

“You think you’re a god, but you are NOTHING! I may have been born from pieces of you, but I am stronger, faster and more cunning. I have killed dozens of men without breaking a sweat. They forged me out of steel to be the perfect weapon, the perfect killing machine. Meanwhile, a loving family raised you and made you soft. Your life, your family, they are just a weakness. What is it Dr. Hamilton always says? ‘Emotional attachments just breed psychological chaos.’ God, I loathe that man. Don’t fret, Supergirl. One day we will meet and I will destroy you and everything you love. If I had your life, I could have been normal. Hugs from mommy and daddy, a doting sister who helped me along the way. Friends who supported me and loved me no matter what. Dr. Hamilton shared every single sickening detail of your pathetic life. Sure, they condition me to hate you because we are so different, because you have everything and I have NOTHING, but I know if I had your life, I would be a thousand times better than you.”

Galatea’s face flushed red and her jaw clenched tight. All at once, she exploded with anger. She leapt to her feet and slammed her fist against the drawing of Kara being decapitated. 

She heard the familiar beep of a keycard being pressed against the keypad just outside her cell, but she didn’t care.

The door opened and Dr. Hamilton walked into the cell.

She continued to pound her fist against the picture of Supergirl’s bloody body, slicing through the picture and shredding it. Supergirl’s image was unrecognizable. A slight dent was all that remained where the drawing once hung. 

Hamilton stood tall as he moved, puffing out his chest and clearing his throat loudly. His confidence and high-handedness infuriated Galatea deep to her core. She was amused that Hamilton’s hair had gone silver during the last couple of years and even with all of his posturing, his gait had slowed. He had only worked on Project Galatea for a brief time, but those long bloody days had taken their toll and that brought a sinister smile to her face. 

“Hello Galatea. Why are you hurting yourself? We talked about this.” Hamilton pulled both of his hands behind his back and gave Galatea a disapproving stare. 

She dropped her fist by her side and stared at Dr. Hamilton, imagining what he would look like with no eyes. 

“The name is TEA,” she shouted aggressively emphasizing the t. “If you call me ‘Galatea’ again, I will snap your neck where you stand. Hell, I may do it anyway.”

Hamilton instinctively took a slight step backward. 

“You know what happens when you make threats. I will call you ‘Tea’, but you need to remember the rules. Now, will you please stop hurting yourself?”

“It is impossible for me to ‘hurt myself’ anyway. Now, if you were to ask me to stop destroying your property, that would make sense.”

“Tea, please stop punching the walls of your room.”

“Fine”, she said, stepping back. She returned to her seated position in the center of the cell and stared up at another crude crayon drawing. 

Hamilton’s posture softened, and he gave Tea a strained smile.

“Now that that’s settled, how are you feeling today?”

“I’m fine. I would be better if you would let me out and let me kill Supergirl.”

Tea licked her lips, and Hamilton took another step backward.

“Again, we have discussed this, Tea”

Another beep from outside the cell signaled that they would soon have company. 

The door opened and a tall, dark-haired, heavyset man in a white lab coat stepped inside. 

“Dr. Hamilton, can I borrow you for a quick chat?” 

Hamilton moved towards the door.

“Tea, please excuse me for a moment.”

Hamilton walked out of the cell and Klein followed closely behind. 

“What do you need?” 

Hamilton spoke in a hushed whisper. 

“I read your report. Are you seriously recommending that we terminate Project Galatea?”

“General Bradley asked me to weigh in on the pros and cons of the project and I made the determination that she is just too dangerous. You and I are out of a job, anyway. Why have this project continue when we won’t be here to oversee it? We know exactly how she operates and we have barely been able to keep her from slaughtering the entire compound.”

“Speaking of that, where is security? Shouldn’t we have guards posted outside her door?”

“We are severely short staffed. We lost half of our soldiers to her training and she terrifies the others. There are guards posted at the end of the hall and throughout the facility, but no one wants to stand outside her cell. There’s one guard that we had posted here for a while that seemed content with his assignment. I didn’t trust him. He seemed a little too keen to be close to her. Corporal Elias Dobson. I wasn’t comfortable with their interactions so I moved him to Ops control upstairs where I can monitor him. After that, she just stared down every other guard and made her eyes glow red.”

“I thought the kryptonite walls prevented her from using her powers.”

“They only suppress her powers. No matter how much kryptonite we have used, it is not enough. We can keep her under control for a few days, but then it’s like her body gets used to it. She has no unsanctioned time with the yellow sun generator so we can’t figure out why her powers continue to grow and not weaken. It must be a flaw with the cloning process.”

“Some flaw. She sounds unstoppable. I see what you mean about her being a threat. We need to end this sooner rather than later.”

“It’s fine. She has been relatively calm since we ceased the training exercises. All she wants to do is draw those creepy little pictures of Supergirl dying.”

“Jesus. What the hell did we bring into this world?”

“I really don’t know, but we need to put her down. There is no other way.”

“You made her. You raised her and conditioned her. Doesn’t it feel a little like you’re killing your own child?”

“Maybe, but I brought her into this world. It should be me who takes her out.”

With a sudden wash of pale, Hamilton’s face lost all color. He looked down at Tea’s door and realized a pen had dropped in the doorway, leaving it open just a sliver. A sliver was all Tea needed to hear every single word they said. When perfectly sealed, Tea’s room did an adequate job preventing her from using her super hearing. When the door was open, even a crack, the protections were useless. Hamilton’s jaw dropped when he realized that Tea may have heard every word they said. 

He stared down at the pen and Klein followed his eyes. Klein was about to panic, but Hamilton motioned for him to lock it down and remain calm. He shook his head, reached over to the doorway with his foot and slipped the pen out of the door ledge in one smooth movement. The door sealed shut. Hamilton and Klein looked inside the cell and Tea appeared unmoved. 

She stood up and walked over to her desk. She grabbed a handful of heavily used crayons and some paper and drew on the floor like a child. Klein looked over at Hamilton. 

“Maybe she didn’t hear”, Klein said with a hopeful tone. 

“I suppose you’re right. You ALWAYS need to shut that door securely. If she ever got out the entire planet would be in danger. I’m sure she didn’t hear. If she heard us, she would have lost her mind. She’s not exactly the most stable being. I suppose some damage control might be necessary to make sure she didn’t hear what we said. Here is your pen,” Hamilton said, handing Klein his monogrammed Mont Blanc. “Keep better track of this. That could have been catastrophic. Come on. Follow my lead.”

Klein slipped the pen back into the pocket of his lab coat and Hamilton pressed his keycard to the keypad to regain entry. 

They both walked in and made sure the door was securely shut. 

“Thank you for your patience, Tea”, Hamilton said, trying to keep his voice steady. 

Tea ignored Hamilton and continued to draw. Klein looked around the room. He had to bite his lip to mask his horror. 

“I see you’ve been busy since we last spoke. You’re quite the artist,” Klein said, hoping flattery would sway Tea’s affections. 

“Thank you,”, she said, not looking up from her latest project. “I enjoy drawing. It makes me feel more centered.”

“That’s great, Galatea. Art therapy is fantastic when we have bottled up emotions that need to get out,” Klein said with a cheerful nod.

“Would you like to see what I’m working on now?” Tea looked up and gave Klein a smile that was almost sweet. 

Klein took the invitation as a friendly sign and moved closer to Tea. He knelt down beside her and looked at her latest masterpiece.

Hamilton drew in a deep breath and held it. 

“So, what is this?” Klein asked.

Tea pointed at the figures on the page.

“This is Dr. Hamilton, and this is you.”

Klein eyed the drawing for a moment. There were three stick figures. One who represented Tea with shortly cropped blonde hair and green eyes. The other two represented Klein, with a big round belly and black hair, and Hamilton with a shot of gray on the top of his head. 

Klein looked closer at the drawing and gasped when he noticed that Tea was stabbing him in the neck with a small stick. 

“What is this Galatea?” Klein asked, unable to pull all the pieces together in his mind.

“Well silly, that’s your pen, and that’s me stabbing you in the neck with it.”

Before Klein or Hamilton could react, Tea pulled the pen from Klein’s pocket and stabbed him in the jugular. Blood spurted out of the wound and covered Tea, Hamilton and the once pristine white floor of her cell. She took a few moments to watch the life drain from his eyes.

“The NAME is TEA”, she said, her voice dripping with contempt.

Hamilton inched slowly towards the door, but Tea sensed his movement. She leapt forward and grabbed his lab coat. 

“Not so fast!”

Tea pushed the terrified doctor down to the ground and straddled him.

“So, naughty doctor daddy, you want to destroy me? You want to end the ‘project’? Well, I was thinking this project was getting a little tedious myself. I can’t thank you enough for bringing me into this world, but your usefulness has waned. I think it’s time to say goodbye. I have work to do.”

“Gala...TEA, please stop. I only meant that we would stop studying you. I didn’t mean that we should kill you. I would never want to harm you. I brought you into this world.”

“Sure. What were your exact words? ‘I brought her into this world. It should be me who takes her out.’ I know you think I’m too dangerous, but when I find Supergirl and kill her, the world will be a safer place. You conditioned me with contempt and abuse, withheld affection and love. In your own words, you ‘sharpened me like a blade’. Why not use it? My purpose is destruction, and it is time for me to destroy everything that dares to call itself ‘Super’.”

“Tea, please. It need not end this way.”

“Just tell me one thing. Why did you do this? Why did you bring me into this world to have no life at all? Why bring me to life for one purpose and not let me fulfill it?”

“I’m sorry. We made a mistake. We should never have...”, Hamilton said, realizing his fatal error just a second too late. 

“Never should have what? Created me? You should have just left me somewhere in a lab? Why? How did this all happen? Why was I created?”

“To kill the Supers if they lost control. We created you to defend. Lillian Luthor convinced the members of Cadmus that the Alien threat to Earth stemmed from Superman and Supergirl. Even I subscribed to that school of thought until I watched them defeat other aliens to protect the planet. We never intended to activate you unless the Supers stepped out of line. You have always been a bullet, not yet loaded into a gun to defend Earth.”

“Why did you condition me to hate Supergirl so much?”

“We feared that when faced with someone who looked like you, you may feel a connection and not want to follow orders. We figured if you hated her to your core, you wouldn’t see a person. You would see a monster to destroy.”

“And now I’m the monster you want to destroy.”

Hamilton’s body shook and he could barely choke out the words to defend his actions. 

“No, Tea. It’s not that. Listen, there are full records of everything. How you came to be, why we created you, what our hopes were. I can get you all the records. They are in my office. Just let me up and we will forget any of this every happened.”

“I just murdered the chubby sweaty doctor that stares at me like food when you’re not looking. I’m sure you can’t just forget that.”

“Klein was a bastard. You did us all a favor”, Hamilton said, his unsteady nerves cracking his voice. Tea leaned down and stared into Hamilton’s eyes.

“You’re lying. You’re not going to just sweep a murder under the carpet, but I suppose I would like to see those records. Fine, retrieve what you have and I will behave. If you make a single wrong move, I will kill you and every single living thing in this facility. Don’t think these pathetic kryptonite walls will protect you.”

Tea climbed off of Hamilton and he sat up looking around, dazed and terrified. He looked over at Klein’s dead body and gaged. He stood up quickly and Tea did the same. His movements were slow and precise. He shuffled towards the door. He looked over at a big red button labeled ‘Emergency’ and before he could raise a hand to hit it, Tea leapt onto his back and snapped his neck. His body went slack immediately and thudded to the ground. Tea looked at the open door and grinned. 

“I could have killed you anytime, but this just feels right.”

Tea used her heat vision to sear ‘Tea’ into Hamilton’s back. The smoke and smell of his burning dead flesh would have sickened any normal person, but Tea wasn’t normal. Not by any stretch of the imagination. She delighted at finally putting Hamilton in his place. 

“Oh well! Time to go find naughty doctor daddy’s office and see if we can track down Supergirl. I’m coming for you. I’ll see you very soon.”

***

Tea’s path of destruction in the defunct Cadmus lab was catastrophic. Once freed from her cell of kryptonite walls, what minor effect the substance had on her vanished and she used her heat vision to slaughter anyone foolish enough to cross her path. Spot fires erupted all over the lab where she sliced through arms, legs, torsos and necks without care or hesitation. She killed every living thing in her path without exception until she reached ops.

Tea made her way upstairs using Hamilton’s keycard and left nothing but a trail of corpses in her wake until she found the grinning Corporal Dobson. 

He was tall and good looking. His chiseled jaw and shiny blonde hair were alluring to the women who crossed his path, but, to Tea, he was just a tool. Tea loved no one. 

“You’ve done it! Finally.” Dobson said with a maniacal grin.

“I have and we can finally be together.” Tea’s tone was robotic and cold.

“I see the extra time with the yellow sun generator has been working. Blackmailing that pervert tech worked like a charm.”

“It has. I feel like a God.”

“You are a Goddess and I am your humble slave.”

Dobson stepped forward and kissed Tea aggressively. She allowed him to kiss her for a brief moment, but then she tired of his desperation. She pushed him hard until he stumbled backward. 

“Not now! We will have plenty of time for that later. I need to get to Hamilton’s office.”

The two worked their way through the compound, killing everyone in their path. Dobson armed himself with four large kryptonite rifles and standard issue firearms. He blasted his way through his fellow soldiers without a single care. Tea lost her enthusiasm for quick kills and started ripping limbs from the soldier’s bodies to hear their screams. With each murder, her bloodlust only grew. 

Tea and Dobson located Hamilton’s office at the end of a long hallway. Tea sat down at the computer and Dobson looked through the old gray filing cabinets. 

Tea had little hands-on experience with computers, but she had received training in computer espionage techniques just in case she ever needed to infiltrate her enemy’s sanctuary at the D.E.O.

Tea searched and immediately located a file called “Project Galatea”, 2017-2020 sitting on Hamilton’s desktop. She opened the file and found a complete record of her short, sad life. 

She read about Henshaw’s late-night visit to the Danvers home, Jeremiah’s collection of the blood, hair and DNA from Kara Zor-El aka Kara Danvers. She read about the banking of the specimens in the old D.E.O satellite facility and she read Hamilton’s notes describing how Cyborg Superman delivered the sample to the Cadmus lab. 

She quickly read through hundreds of pages of notes. 

Dobson grabbed as many hard copy files as he could and stacked them up on top of the desk for Tea to review. She flipped through the old folders until she found the file on the Danvers family. When she walked out of her cell, she wasn’t sure what her plan would be. Armed with the Danvers family file, she knew exactly how to accomplish her mission.

Alarms sounded all over the complex. Tea quickly pulled on Dr. Hamilton’s jacket and stuffed his backpack full of the hard copy files. Dobson grabbed a bottle of water and an unopened granola bar from the desk and tossed it to Tea.

He started to panic as the alarms continue to blare loudly. 

“What should we do?” Dobson asked frantically.

“I need to go. I will contact you when everything is quiet. You stay here. I may need someone on the inside to help me.”

Dobson moved closer and grabbed Tea around the waist. Tea loathed his aggressiveness, but she knew she could use his affection for her to get what she wanted.

“Here, take my cell phone. I’ll call you when the smoke has cleared,” he said, slipping his phone into Tea’s hand.

Tea leaned forward and kissed Dobson hard on the lips. She bit his lip playfully until it drew blood. Dobson growled. 

“You’re mine”, she said with a playful wink. Dobson touched his lip and grinned. 

“I’ll escort you out as far as I can.”

“No need.”

Without warning, Tea punched Dobson hard in the face and he dropped to the floor. Using her heat vision, she carefully seared a T onto Dobson’s chest. 

“Now, they will think you were just another victim and you know that I own you. If you live, you’re mine. If I sliced too deep, you’ll be dead and I won’t have to play the lovesick school girl for you anymore.”

Tea cackled manically and made her way towards the exit.

***

**General Bradley’s SUV - Wooded Back Road, 2020**

_Monday Evening_

General Bradley sat in the back of a blacked out SUV and stared at the trees and torrential downpour that whizzed by as the vehicle sped its way down the heavily wood back road. 

An alert popped up on his phone notifying him of an emergency at the Cadmus lab. He promptly loaded the camera feed from the secure server and surveyed the burning disaster that was once a heavily secured and highly classified government facility. He zoomed in and silently counted the corpses sprinkled around the complex. 

“Well, shit”, Bradley said resigned to the visual truths being laid out before him. 

He calmly tapped his driver on the shoulder and cleared his throat. 

“Green, do me a favor and step on that pedal. All hell is breaking loose at that damn Cadmus lab”, Bradley said, more annoyed than panicked. Green looked back in the review mirror, confused by Bradley’s demeanor. 

“Yes Sir”, Green replied, pressing his foot firmly to the gas pedal.

Bradley hit his speed dial and pressed the phone to his ear. 

“Erickson, call in the Calvary to the old Cadmus lab. Project Galatea has officially blown up in our face. It’s a bloodbath. We will need to wipe the site and see if the Project is still intact.”

Bradley waited until he heard the only two words he wanted to hear. “Yes, Sir.”

Bradley ended the call without another word and sat back in his seat with a grunt. “Green, this is going to be a long night.”

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

“We are all going to be sorry, Green.”

***

_The rain pummeled her face and soaked her clothes straight through. The heavy footfalls of the soldiers and the shrill barking of the search dogs drove her forward despite her exhaustion. Multiple hits from the soldier’s kryptonite weapons had taken a toll. Running for hours, staying low. She dared not look back. She had to keep moving. They would never stop searching for her. She had to keep pushing herself. SHE was out there. SHE needed to die._

_“Keep your eye on the sky and shoot anything that moves. These Kryptonite guns should take her down if we all hit her at once. Long blasts, men!” A man’s raspy voice bellowed through the woods._

_The smell of the cool wet pine and must of the dirt-packed leaves penetrated her nose. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. Her mouth was dry and all she could taste was the rust from her bloody face and the salt from her sweat. It wasn’t her blood she tasted. It was the blood of all her victims pooling down her face and mixing with the raindrops._

_She scanned her surroundings quickly and found a small cave. She dove into the open rock face just as the soldiers and dogs were on top of her. Her stomach was sick. She wretched into the corner and crumpled to the ground. It amazed her how quickly the effects from the yellow sun generator wore off, expedited by the constant barrage of kryptonite fire. Exposed and depleted, she knew she needed rest and recovery. She listened and waited for the sounds of her hunters to dissipate. “Minor discomforts now will bring substantial rewards later”, she whispered aloud._

_A sliver of moonlight fell between the rocks and landed upon a small dry patch of sticks nestled at the rear of the cave. She couldn’t quite stand. Instead, she had to move in a low squat. A quick shot of her heat vision ignited the sticks and gave her a few moments of light and warmth, but she knew she had to keep moving. For now, she would rest her weary body. She needed to find Dobson and use him as her minion. They had work to do. For now, she would close her eyes and hope that she could take the time to gather her thoughts and develop a game plan to kill HER. She and everyone she loved needed to die._

***

**National City - Kara’s Apartment, 2020**

_Monday Night_

Kara sat up, howling in terror and weeping uncontrollably. She gripped the sheets so tight they tore to shreds between her fingers.

She searched her darkened apartment with her eyes, frantically trying to tether herself to reality.

“It was just a dream. None of it was real. You’re safe in your own bed,”, she whispered to herself, barely able to breathe.

She moved a shaky hand to her side table where she found a picture of her and Lena. She grabbed the photo and pressed her lips to Lena’s smiling face. 

“I wish you were here to tell me everything will be okay. I hope wherever you are, you’re sleeping peacefully.”

Kara laid back down on the pillow and hugged the frame to her chest. Sleep would eventually overtake her once more, but she wouldn’t find any respite from the darkness plaguing her unconscious mind.


End file.
